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Should Value Investors Buy Group 1 Automotive (GPI) Stock?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

Group 1 Automotive (GPI - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. GPI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 5.70 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 6.17. Over the last 12 months, GPI's Forward P/E has been as high as 6.67 and as low as 3.66, with a median of 4.58.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is GPI's P/B ratio of 1.36. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 1.87. Over the past year, GPI's P/B has been as high as 1.88 and as low as 0.94, with a median of 1.36.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. GPI has a P/S ratio of 0.19. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.3.

Finally, we should also recognize that GPI has a P/CF ratio of 3.60. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. GPI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 5.20. Over the past 52 weeks, GPI's P/CF has been as high as 5.39 and as low as 2.90, with a median of 3.83.

If you're looking for another solid Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales value stock, take a look at Rush Enterprises (RUSHA - Free Report) . RUSHA is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Shares of Rush Enterprises are currently trading at a forward earnings multiple of 10.06 and a PEG ratio of 0.67 compared to its industry's P/E and PEG ratios of 6.17 and 0.89, respectively.

Over the past year, RUSHA's P/E has been as high as 11.78, as low as 8.03, with a median of 9.80; its PEG ratio has been as high as 0.79, as low as 0.54, with a median of 0.35 during the same time period.

Furthermore, Rush Enterprises holds a P/B ratio of 1.61 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.87. RUSHA's P/B has been as high as 2.01, as low as 1.43, with a median of 1.68 over the past 12 months.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Group 1 Automotive and Rush Enterprises are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, GPI and RUSHA feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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